Tag Archive: Coffee

Healthy Mocha Frappe

Healthy Mocha Frappe

As a Clean Plate Club member Stonyfield sent me their 2 newest flavors of Greek yogurt, cafe latte and black cherry, as well as their re-perfected traditional flavors. I was super excited because if there’s one flavor of yogurt I’ve been wanting for the past couple of years it’s coffee(seriously, just check my Twitter archive). You gotta try this #StonyfieldGreek!

The cafe latte won’t be for everyone but it was just what I was hoping for—sweet, slightly bitter from the coffee, and a little tangy. I liked the black cherry, too, but thought the cafe latte was more unique and delicious.

This mocha frappe is just like any fancy Starbucks drink you could get but just a little healthier. Using Greek yogurt instead of whole milk keeps the thick, rich consistency but with added protein and 0% of the fat. Try having it for dessert or as a breakfast drink when the weather starts heating up.

Healthy Mocha Frappe

Getting the right amount of ice to liquid is the hardest part of making a good smoothie. Play around to find what works best for the blender or food processor that you’re using.

Healthy Mocha Frappe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):

  • 1 container Stonyfield cafe latte Greek
  • 2 Tablespoons black coffee
  • 1 1/2 Tabespoons maple syrup
  • 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 8 ice cubes

Method:

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processer.
  2. Pulse until the ingredients are well-mixed and the ingredients are fluffy.
  3. Pour into a clean glass. Garnish with whipped cream as desired.

Hot Amaretto Mochas

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I’ve gone through stages of coffee drinking. First was the “decaf black coffee is the way to go.” Then came the “I don’t drink coffee, just tea,”  followed by “I only drink coffee when my coworkers do.”

Now comes the “I’ll drink coffee when you put Bailey’s in it” time of year.

This drink is so easy it’s a little scary(scary that you can make it whenever you want, that is). Be sure to keep all the ingredients on hand for a dessert aperitif on Christmas day or for any holiday party and watch the pot of coffee disappear.

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You can use any flavored liqueur instead of the amaretto, or even make a non-alcoholic version with coffee creamer and a splash of almond extract for the kiddos.

Hot Amaretto Mochas

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):

  • 6oz fresh brewed coffee
  • 1 Tablespoon hot cocoa mix
  • 1 1/2oz Irish cream
  • 1/2oz amaretto

Method:

  1. Make sure the coffee you’re using is steaming hot. If not, heat it up gently.
  2. Stir in the hot cocoa mix until it’s completely dissolved.
  3. Pour in the Irish cream and almond liqueur and stir well until blended.
  4. Garnish with whipped cream and chocolate if desired. Serve hot.

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Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream

Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream

When you go to Starbucks there are almost too many decision. First you have to choose a drink, then a size, then a milk, then any other number of questions—what happened to plain old coffee? I’m just kidding; of course you should go with a tall caramel frappuccino with whipped cream.

I tried making this recipe because a friend told me vanilla soy milk makes the coffee taste better. If I didn’t buy the ingredients and make it myself I probably wouldn’t know this was dairy-free at all. The flavor is rich and dark and sweet.

Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream Ingredients

I suggest anywhere from 1/4 cup to 3/4 cup of sugar for this recipe because it depends on the other ingredients you use. If you use a flavored creamer and milk, use less sugar than you would if you use unsweetened varieties. At any point you can grab a spoon and taste how sweet the mix is, but keep in mind that the colder it is the less sweet it will taste.

Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream

Prep time: 40 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 8 servings):

  • 2 cups soy milk creamer
  • 2 cups soy milk
  • 3 6oz instant coffee packets
  • 1/4-3/4 cup sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream Serving

Method:

  1. Pour 1 cup of soy milk creamer into a large bowl.
  2. Add the contents of the instant coffee packets and whisk until they’ve completely dissolved.
  3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and continue whisking until the sugar has dissolved.
  4. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.
  5. Move the ice cream to a safe container and freeze for an additional 2 hours until the ice cream has frozen.
  6. Let the ice cream sit at room temperature for 5 minutes to soften before scooping.

Dairy-Free Coffee Ice Cream Chocolate

Just Photos: Coffee

 

April 11th 006

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix Coffee Bag

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Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix

Surprisingly for all the sweet teeth I have and my love of chocolate I’ve never been a fan of the fancy drinks at Starbucks. I love the occasional bitterness of black coffee but more often than not I’ll choose green or herbal tea, and if you try swirling chocolate syrup and whipped cream into your green tea you’ll get a few odd looks.

Chocolate covered coffee beans and the like, however, are a different story. They’re right up there with chocolate covered almonds, chocolate covered raisins, and chocolate covered everything else. I’ve never found chocolate covered hazelnuts but something tells me if I did I’d love them, too.

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix Yield

This trail mix hits just about every note that a good cup of coffee should. It has bitterness from the coffee beans, sweetness from the white chocolate and raisins, and a rich nuttiness from the hazelnuts and almonds. I think that hazelnuts pair great with chocolate and coffee but if you find yourself lacking them you can easily double the almonds in the recipe.

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 3 cups):

  • 3/4 cup hazelnuts
  • 3/4 cup roasted almonds
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup chocolate covered coffee beans
  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix Coffee Bag

Method:

  1. In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
  2. Store at room temperature when not enjoying.

Hazelnut Mocha Trail Mix Cup

Chocolate-Coffee Meringue Sandwiches

Chocolate-Coffee Meringue Sandwiches

Even though I stopped drinking coffee years ago, I still love coffee flavored things. Occasionally I’ll have a cup of decaf coffee, but more likely I’ll look for coffee ice cream or chocolate covered espresso beans. Coffee and chocolate are a wonderful things.

These aren’t technically macarons because there isn’t any almond paste in the recipe but the taste and texture are similar: Crunchy, soft coffee meringues held together with a rich chocolate ganache. The best touch is the added Irish cream in the ganache; it’s much better than a morning cup of coffee. 

Chocolate-Coffee Meringue Sandwiches Ganache

You can use regular cream in place of the Irish cream for the ganache or even a coffee liqueur like Kahlua.

Chocolate-Coffee Meringue Sandwiches

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients(Makes about 15 sandwiches):

  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  • 1/2 cup chocolate chips
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 3 Tablespoons Irish cream

Chocolate-Coffee Meringue Sandwiches Ingredients

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 225 degrees.
  2. In a glass bowl, beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks.
  3. Sift the powdered sugar, cream of tartar, and instant coffee together and then slowly beat them into the egg whites.
  4. Continue beating until all of the sugar is incorporated and the whites form stiff peaks.
  5. Scoop the meringue into a pastry bag or Ziploc bag with a corner cut out.
  6. Squeeze the batter into discs on non-stick baking trays.
  7. Bake for 90 minutes until the meringues are hard. Remove from the oven and let them cool.
  8. Melt the chocolate and butter together. Mix in the Irish cream until it makes a smooth ganache.
  9. Scoop about a Tablespoon of ganache on the bottom of one meringue and sandwich it with another.
  10. Let the sandwiches sit for about 15 minutes until the ganache hardens.
  11. Serve at room temperature.

Chocolate-Coffee Meringue Sandwiches Yield

Perk Me Up Trail Mix

Perk-Me-Up-Trail-Mix

What I’m about to say may be sacrilegious so read on at your own risk.

I don’t really like coffee. I used to love it but now I could count on one hand the number of times I’ve drank it in the past year. I’m a much bigger fan of tea now.

The one exception is chocolate covered coffee beans. I’ve probably spent a small fortune on those alone; I really can’t get enough. I’d much rather wake up to a handful of those than a cup of coffee any day.

Perk-Me-Up-Trail-Mix-coffee

This trail mix has all the flavors you could want in a fancy Starbucks coffee drink: Vanilla, almond, chocolate, white chocolate, and coffee. When I do drink coffee, it’s always black, but a trail mix with just coffee beans wouldn’t be nearly as exciting. I threw in some raisins, too, because those are healthy and that makes the rest of it healthy by association, right? If you don’t want to make the vanilla sugar almonds, you can always buy flavored almonds and substitute them instead or just use regular roasted almonds.

Perk Me Up Trail Mix

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup chocolate covered coffee beans
  • 3/4 cup white chocolate
  • 1 cup seedless raisins
  • 2 cups vanilla sugar almonds*

*Vanilla sugar almonds

  • 2 cups almonds
  • 2-3 heaping Tablespoons sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • 1 Tablespoon liquid sweetener(corn syrup, agave, maple syrup, etc.)

Perk-Me-Up-Trail-Mix-top

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Combine all of the ingredients for the almonds in a bowl and mix together.
  3. Lay the almonds out in a single layer on a baking tray and roast for 20-30 minutes, jostling occasionally until the liquid evaporates and the almonds turn golden. Remove and let the almonds cool completely before continuing.
  4. Toss the almonds, white chocolate, raisins, and chocolate covered coffee beans together. Store in an air-tight container for up to a month.

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The best part of waking up is this in your cup.

2 10-Minute Recipes You Must Make

May 21st 061

Saturday morning I was a ball of energy. I was excited to be home and have the sun out. I strapped up my laces and ran for 15 miles down back roads, past schools, up hills and through neighborhoods. And I felt really good, too! Until that afternoon when I hit the wall. Hard.

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I didn’t feel like cooking. I felt like sitting on the couch and watching Tivoed Food Network pretending they were cooking for me. But then I remembered these two recipes and how easy they were. After 30 minutes in the kitchen I had dinner and dessert; who could say no to that?

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Caramelized Onion and Balsamic Vinegar Bean Salad: I think the name says it all. If you like onions you will love this, and I do. The recipe makes a lot so I’ve been eating the leftovers for the past two days and it only gets better.

May 21st 075

Espresso Chocolate Bark: I really love chocolate covered espresso beans. This is the closest way I’ve found to make them at home that’s also easy. There’s nothing better than a dessert with a buzz.

So there you go. Don’t let a long day keep you from eating well. Good food is only 10 minutes away.

Mocha Buttercream

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Remember when I made cupcakes and was too lazy to frost them? Well, 6 days later it snowed again and I had nothing but time.

At first I was going to try a chocolate buttercream but to get chocolate to be the right temperature seemed like more work than reward. Also, I was on a coffee kick and decided to split the difference and settle on mocha. Who doesn’t love mocha lattes and mocha cappuccinos? It’s an excuse to have chocolate in the morning. This frosting is just as rich and pairs perfectly with any chocolate cake recipe.

Mocha Buttercream

Ingredients:

  • 1 stick of butter(or Earth Balance) at room temperature
  • 3 cups of powdered sugar, divided
  • 2 tablespoons warm water + 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules(you could substitute with 2 tablespoons of strongly brewed coffee)
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

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Cream together the stick of butter with 1 cup of powdered sugar.

Once the mixture is homogenous, mix in the coffee, cocoa powder, and 1 more cup of powdered sugar and beat again.

After that has come together, sift in the last bit of powdered sugar and beat until the buttercream is smooth and there are no lumps.

January 19th 033

Let’s address some elephants in the room:

1) I’m completely aware of what color the frosting is and what it looks like. You don’t have to tell me because I’m not blind. In fact, I was the one licking it off my fingers, so clearly the flavor trumps the appearance.

2) I know I can’t pipe frosting to save my life. My favorite Charmed one was Piper; I loved Billie Piper as Rose in Doctor Who; I, on the other hand, am no piper. You can hire me to bake your birthday cake but God help us all if you want me to decorate it.

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I will, however, garnish with some espresso chocolate bark because that’s how I roll.

How To Make Food Tastier With Just 1 Ingredient

There are certain secrets to cooking. Seasoning is one of them.

My favorite way to think of seasoning is that it shouldn’t flavor the dish; instead, it should make the dish taste more like itself. Certain ingredients are really good at that, especially in the right recipes. Here’s my quick list of “secret” ingredients that you can add to any dish to make the flavor pop. Look out because the cat’s coming out of the bag.

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Salt is probably the most common seasoning. It’s also one of our taste sensations. We all salt our dinner plates but do you salt your desserts? A little bit of salt in sweets makes the flavor irresistible.

Example:

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Banana Chocolate Chip Blondies with Peanut Butter Frosting

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We all know a spoon full of sugar makes the medicine go down. But we don’t all know how good it works in savory foods. Most of the time when we’re cooking dinner, we don’t think to use sugar. Even if the flavors you’re working at aren’t sweet, a little sugar—just like a little salt—can go a long way in making savory flavors pop.

Example:

January 11th 124

Vegged-Out Quinoa and The Best Quinoa Dressing

January 113th 049

I’m always(OK, once) asked what’s the secret to making brownies taste good? Well, here’s one of them: instant coffee. The bitterness in coffee pairs really well with the bitterness in cacao and helps to make the flavor richer and deeper. Add a teaspoon of instant coffee to any brownie mix to boost the flavor.

Example:

December 27th 060

Outrageous Triple Chocolate Brownies

January 16th 037

Most of the time, none of us think of nutmeg. We use it in pies and pumpkin bread in the Fall and that’s about it. But a pinch of nutmeg with any earth flavor like chicken, potato, or greens can enhance the overall dish.

Example:

January 16th 091

Sautéed Spinach With Silken Tofu

January 113th 038

Bay Leaves are the unsung hero of great tasting beans and marinades. You never see them because they’re not edible and need to be discarded after cooking. But adding a bay leaf when cooking beans or lentils, or when marinating chicken adds a strong earthy flavor that only enhances everything that’s there.

Example:

December 31st 013

Mediterranean Chicken Marinade

Now I’ll open it to you: Do you have any secret ingredients that make people say “This is so good! What did you do to it?” that you’re willing to share?